Welcome to this special episode of best Windows 10 apps. This article looks back, and lists the best games released for Windows 10 in 2016.

I went through all "best of Windows apps" post of the year, cross-referenced the popularity of apps on Windows Store, and read user comments to create this list.

If you want to download official themes for Microsoft’s operating system you can do so at the moment by going here, and choosing the theme you want from a selection of categories including Featured, Animals, Games, Movies, Places & Landscapes, and Panoramic. There are also 'Compatible with Windows 7' and 'Compatible with the new Windows' categories.

In Windows 10, you can also go to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Themes Settings, and click 'Get more themes online'. However, there’s now another way to get Windows 10 themes, and that’s from the Windows Store.

Earlier in December, Microsoft warned Insiders that there would be no more new builds released this side of the New Year. Of course, this does not mean that a new build did not exist, and now build 14997 has leaked online.

Coming from the internal development branch (rs_onecoe_base, specifically), it's possible that build 14997 will never be officially released, but the leak does give a tantalizing glimpse of what we can expect. On the menu in this build of Windows 10 Creators Update is an updated version of Microsoft Edge, an improved OOBE and important tweaks to the Start menu.

In its quest to get people to upgrade to Windows 10 while the new operating system was still free, Microsoft took a surprisingly aggressive approach, which got uglier, and uglier as the year went on.

The company’s dirty tricks included downloading Windows 10 files onto users computers without permission, making Windows 10 a "Recommend update", removing the "no thanks" button from the Get Windows 10 box, changing the behavior of the red corner x, and sneaking an advert for Windows 10 into a Windows 7 security patch. Now the company admits it did cross the line, but only at one point -- can you guess which?

Two-hundred-and-ten in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on Windows Store in the past seven days.

Check out the best Windows 10 apps of 2016 listing in case you have missed it, as it highlights great apps for the operating system.

Microsoft has released ISO image files for Windows 10 Build 14986, giving anyone a chance to try out the forthcoming Creators Update.

While you can install it on a PC, it’s not wise to have it as your daily driver. One of the best ways of trying it out risk free, is to run it in a virtualized environment, using VirtualBox.

If you’re thinking of joining the Windows 10 Insider program, or you just want to do a clean install with the very latest version of Windows 10, the good news is Microsoft has released an up-to-date ISO image.

The image, for Build 14986, is available to all, and you can download it now, although there is a catch.

Even though more and more people are choosing laptops and tablets for their computing needs nowadays, there is still a place for desktops. All-in-one machines in particular can be a cost-effective way to get both a PC and monitor. This design will also save space on a desk or table -- a good thing for those without a lot of space.

Today, Acer announces its Aspire C Series all-in-one desktops. The machines come in two screen sizes, both with 1080p resolution -- 21.5-inch (22) and 23.8-inch (24). What is particularly cool, however, is the operating system that they run. Of course, Windows 10 Home is available as default, but if a consumer prefers, they can opt to have a Linux-based OS instead (Linpus Linux). How cool is that?

Welcome to this special episode of best Windows apps. This article looks back, and lists the best applications released for Windows 10 in 2016.

I went through all "best of Windows apps" post of the year, cross-referenced the popularity of apps on Windows Store, and read user comments to create this list.

Whether you’re new to Windows 10, know someone who might need a little help mastering the new OS, or just want to get more from it yourself, Windows 10 Simplified is a great read.

The book usually retails for $17, but you can download a PDF version for free now. The offer is only good until December 29, 2016, so act quickly.

Microsoft made Windows 10 updates mandatory in order to make sure all users are always on the latest version of the new OS, but if you’d rather choose if and when updates are installed -- perhaps to avoid falling foul of problem ones -- there are several options available to you.

We’ve previously looked at ways you can disable the update mechanism in Windows 10, including using the Windows 10 Updater Disabler, but Windows 10 Update Switch uses an interesting method to stop updates for as long as you’d like.

If you’re having problems installing updates in Windows 7 onwards, there’s a troubleshooting page you can try.

The guided walkthrough lets you fix problems in Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. Just choose your operating system, and follow the on-screen instructions. If you’re running Windows 10, you’ll be prompted to download a new Windows Update Troubleshooter.

Two-hundred-and-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on Windows Store in the past seven days.

As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.

Over time, Windows can become sluggish, and beset with problems. A good system clean might be enough to keep you going a while longer, but not always. Worse, if you get hit with malware -- ransomware in particular -- or encounter major hardware problems, your only option might be to reinstall Windows.

Windows 10 offers users two choices here -- go into Settings > Update & recovery > Recovery. Click the Get started button under Reset this PC and you’ll have the option to keep your files (removes apps and settings only) or remove everything (a total fresh start). However, in the Creators Update there’s going to be a new option.

Microsoft has been rolling out new Insider Preview builds of Windows 10 on a weekly basis, with just one or two exceptions.

A new build was anticipated for this week, but the software giant isn’t happy with the choice of options, and didn’t want to risk pushing out an unstable release this side of Christmas.